PORT ELIZABETH - Two men charged with the execution style murder of 12-year-old Aliya "Angel" Tee were back in the Port Elizabeth High Court on Monday, but the trial could not continue because one of them is too ill.
Tee was killed in June 2016 when gunmen posing as police officers forced open the back door of her Barberry Street home in Bethelsdorp.
Nealon Redhouse, 18, and Deon Harmse, 24, have been charged with Tee's murder and the attempted murder of her parents.
Other charges against the pair include housebreaking with intent to commit murder and unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition.
The case was previously postponed to determine Harmse's medical condition.
He has been diagnosed with tuberculosis and still has a drain attached to his body, the court heard on Monday.
The court also heard that one of his lungs had collapsed as a result of his ill health.
State Advocate Mujaahid Sandan said that Harmse's operation has been booked for April 16 and asked the court to postpone the matter to ascertain how much time he would need to recover.
Tee was a Grade 7 pupil and prefect at Strelitzia Primary School in Port Elizabeth's Northern Areas.
According to the State, her father Edmund was shot and incapacitated while trying to fend off the attackers.
After the men shot Edmund they allegedly proceeded to look for other family members in the home. Tee and her mother Candice were in the bathroom when they were discovered by the gunmen. After pleading with the men not to shoot, the schoolgirl was shot execution style in the head.
Her mother survived and passed out during the shooting. She later regained consciousness to discover her daughter’s lifeless body covered in blood.
The case was postponed until April 17.